I'll never eat another banana as long as I live.

Hey all. Thank god, the banana humping is over! I lasted a little over a week, enough to pay for my sailing trip, plus a little extra and then I jacked it in. It was a good experience – but not one that I’d care to repeat. I wasn’t suffering alone – there were a group of around 10 guys staying in my hostel who were all working on the same farm.

I can’t tell you how hard the first day was, but thankfully it did get a little easier. Typically we’d get up at 4.30am and wait to be collected by the bus that then drove for an hour and a half (!) to reach the farm. It was huge – 12,000 hectares. Just as it was becoming light, we’d be driven out into the paddocks in jeeps and then the mornings work would begin.

Bananas grow in BIG bunches – they weigh upwards of 80kg. They aren’t yellow and soft but rather green and rock hard. To ‘pick’ the bunches you first slice the tree with a machete and slowly lower the bunch onto your shoulders. Whilst it’s balancing there you hack around the back of you head and cut the stem to release the bunch. It's known in the trade as 'cutting and humping'! As you're cutting, the dirty water that collects in the bags is pouring over you. The paddocks are thick with slippery mud which you have to jog through with the bunch on your shoulders to place it on the trailer. Being in Australia, you share the paddocks with spiders, snakes and rats. I also spotted my first wild Kangaroo. It was VERY hard work – which is why I only lasted a week!

We’d work till around 3.30, with two half hour ‘smokos’ to break the day up. The pay wasn’t fantastic – but still a refreshing change to my constant spending. I stayed in a little town called Innisfail – the only good point being, there was nothing to spend your money on.

In spite of the work being brutal, I still managed to have a good time with the other guys. There’s always a sense of camaraderie in those crappy conditions. I made some good friends, so much so that I’ve been traveling with fellow humper Tobias (from Germany) for the last few days.

We’ve been staying on Magnetic Island – just off the Queensland coast. It’s a beautiful little island, 16km across with some of the best beaches I’ve seen so far. It’s mostly national parkland, but there are several small communities that live off the tourist trade.

The snorkeling was very good, as was the hiking. We hired a small car to visit the different bays which was all good fun before I got pulled by the police for not wearing my seat belt. It was broken and useless – but they didn’t see my point of view. We visited a small animal sanctury and had a go handling baby crocs and koalas.

All in all, a very cool couple of days, or as Tobias would say "absolutely nice."

I’ve just arrived at Airlee Beach. This is where all the sailing trips to the Whitsunday’s leave. I’ve booked onto the same three day trip that Tobias had already bought. I’m looking forward to it. The weather has been great – if a little cold at night, so it should be smooth sailing on calm seas.

Hope you’re all okay. And before I get a barrage of emails… yes I know I should always wear my seat belt and I promise to in the future. Love Rob.